What ties an eclectic Northern Michigan summer mixtape together? From the biggest Northern-born bands to touring singer-songwriters on the rise, they all claim this one-of-a-kind part of Michigan as their siren song. Give it a listen. (And view Side A for even more local artists!)
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Your Northern Michigan Summer Playlist
Your ultimate road-tripping, porch-chilling, boat-floating, campfire-stoking Northern Michigan mixtape. View Side A, including 7 more musicians, here.
Blake Elliott
A natural southpaw, Blake Elliott began playing her mom’s guitar upside down before finally buying (and restringing) her own. “Music was part of the household,” says Elliott, who was immersed in everything from James Taylor and Barbra Streisand to The Chieftains and Weather Report.
Working past what she calls “horrible” stage fright early on, the Traverse City musician became one of the region’s most recognizable performers, with her soulful, bluesy take on originals like “Back in Line,” which “is about the end of a relationship and you know you’ll be okay,” she shares. At the other end of the spectrum, “Here I Go” is about falling in love at an inopportune time.
Photo by Blake Elliott
She is a working artist in every sense; there are abundant chances (in June alone!) to fall in love with Elliott’s music: June 1, 8 and 15 at The Union in Northport (with Aaron Dye); June 2 at Furnace Street Distillery in Elberta; June 3 at Cafe Santé in Boyne City; June 10 at The Parlor in Traverse City; June 12 at Charlevoix Public Library (with Aaron Dye and Kevin LaRose); June 16 at Little Traverse Inn in Maple City; June 17 at Stormcloud Brewing Company in Frankfort; June 22 at M22 Wine Bar in Glen Arbor; June 23 at Cellar 152 in Elk Rapids; June 29 at The Cantina in Charlevoix; June 30 at Iron Fish Distillery in Thompsonville.
Playing on repeat: “Faster Than Your Eyes Can See” is sweet and gritty at once, pairing irresistible horn parts with Blake’s gorgeous guitar and gravel. —R.B.
Photo by Blake Elliott
The Accidentals
For artists Katie Larson and Sav Buist, it wouldn’t be summer without multiple stops in their home state, among their most loyal and long-standing fans.
Recently signed by Sony Masterworks, The Accidentals offer a unique blend as diverse as Michigan itself. And this year marks a new dawn for the hit band, as longtime drummer Michael Dause is stepping away to focus on other projects after eight years with the group. Detroit’s Katelynn Corll, who recently sat in at SXSW in Austin, will now wo’man the sticks and help shape the group’s sounds. According to Buist, they’re leaning into a time for “the music to assume a little less structure and a little more freedom and improvisation. We want to create experiences rather than just concerts.”
If you’ve wondered what it might feel like to be a kite flying above the shoreline, then “Go Getter” from the album Vessel might be your jam to float into the sunset—or inner thoughts of your choice. Also catch the moving short film for their single “Cityview” that just took home some award hardware at the Michigan Music Video Awards and features scenes shot at The Village at Grand Traverse Commons.
Playing on repeat: With three distinct studio and live albums out in just over a year, The Accidentals scattered many a seed for a wild and perfect Summer 2023 jam. But if you ask Buist for a road trip recommendation with an old friend: “I mean, if the windows are down, we’re listening to ‘Michigan and Again’ (and again and again).” —J.B.
Photo by The Accidentals
Jack M. Senff
Life sometimes feels crazy (working flexible jobs, recording, touring seasonally and now accidentally running a mini artisanal pizza empire with his wife, illustrator Em Randall), yet Midwest musician Jack M. Senff has no regrets. Instead, he shares simply, “I don’t make a dime in music, but I have to catch these songs coming out of me while I can, right?”
Senff writes and scores the effusive albums, creates his own sounds and poetry, and always attempts to capture his here and now through the lyrics. As a way to give himself space and freedom, he hustles his vinyl records, his band merch and most recently launched Make Believe Pizza with creative and life partner Randall (vegetarian pies so popular via Instagram they sell out immediately; friends at Bubbie’s Bagels are hosting a popup each week this summer in Traverse City to help meet demand).
Senff and his Rolling Hill Band just finished a tour following the release of three albums that mark the end of a trio, setting them up for something new to be recorded and released in 2024. After that, Senff plans to take at least one day off before starting whatever is next, with ingredients and discoveries he hasn’t even made yet.
Playing on repeat: “Old Days” from Good to Know You is an optimistic, lollygagging jam to play as you dust off the bike for the first time and roll along the TART trails by yourself, planning new adventures. —J.B.
Photo by Jack M. Senff
Photo by Jack M. Senff
Caroline Barlow
Booking agent by day, performer by night, fan at all hours? Something like that. Perhaps best known as the artistic director for Blissfest Music Organization, Caroline Barlow is herself a singer, songwriter and, as she puts it, song-miner. A self-confessed fan as much as player, Barlow is a member of several Michigan-based collaborations, such as The North Carolines, Hand in the Hopper and The Lonely Lovers, as well as a solo performer.
The Petoskey resident has spent 15-plus years sharing folk and roots music. Catch her solo this summer at Bière de Mac Brew Works in Mackinaw City, with The Lonely Lovers at Lavender Hill Farm in Boyne City, and with The North Carolines at Jacob’s Farm in Traverse City.
Playing on repeat: The gentle, nostalgic “Across the Great Divide.” —R.B.
Photo by Caroline Barlow
Andrew Lutes
Following a migration to the hustle and bustle of elsewhere (Brooklyn, specifically), singer and songwriter A.S. Lutes has returned home and regained his passion for music. “My heart was always tuned to the Northern Michigan clock, and the city had different hours,” he shares. Still, finding time to compose and perform is challenging—he and wife Lana Winter have one-year-old twins, a huge adjustment that coincided with the opening of The Alluvion, a new artist-driven performance space in downtown Traverse City that Lutes helped create—yet, he’s more than fine with it. When his boys watch him play (surprise live-recordings via Instagram where Dad teases out new songs, ideas and connects with his loyal NoMi followers between parenting), Lutes is passing on something visceral and timeless.
This summer he’ll perform at The Union in Northport as part of a summer residency with some surprise collaborators, and, “I’ll work on songs from my upcoming album before recording,” Lutes says.
Playing on repeat: “Oh, My Leelanau” is a song from the heart, and captured Lutes’ longing for the waters and peninsula he grew up on. Only available now as a live-track from his Instagram feed. —J.B.
Photo by Andrew Lutes
Photo by Andrew Lutes
Billy Strings
Northern Michigan can’t lay claim to Billy Strings; the 2021 Grammy-winning Bluegrass phenom only graced Traverse City for a few years between his hard-knock childhood as William Lee Apostol in central Michigan and a life-changing move to Nashville in 2015. But anyone lucky enough to have caught the kid dropping jaws while flatpicking on a TC street corner—or, eventually, on stage every Thursday night at the former Little Bohemia—talks like a proud parent: The boy done good, like we knew he would.
Astride his high, lonesome voice and heartstring-plucked lyrics, Strings runs his guitar wild, pushing traditional bluegrass into a new era of his own hard, fast and loud invention, prompting sold-out shows, legions of multi-generational fans and collaborations both awesome (Bluegrass legend Del McCoury, country star Luke Combs) and unexpected (Post Malone, masked rapper RMR).
Our favorite, though, is his 14-track collab with the man who taught Apostol to play guitar, his father, Terry Barber. A soundtrack of the seminal songs of Apostol’s childhood, 2022’s Me/And/Dad is a tender tribute to Bluegrass roots, Barber’s unique sound and the magic father and son make when their guitars sing together.
Happy news, fans: Though Strings’ several headliner shows this summer in the Midwest are sold out, he’s extended the tour with a stop at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids on Halloween.
Playing on repeat: Home’s “Must Be Seven,” Renewal’s “In the Morning Light” and Me/And/Dad’s “Long Journey Home.” —L.T.W.
Photo by Billy Strings